Anybody Using Nitra-Zorb?

[metweezer]

I know that water changes is the popular and proper way for lowering nitrates but has anyone tried Nitra-Zorb? 

  If so what do you think of it?

 

[Mamashack]

Yep I used it when the nitrates were high in my tap water (up to 40 ppm at one point) however that bloomin' sachet sucked nearly all the nitrate out the tank within an hour - down to 5 ppm. Plants started melting all over the place quite soon after that. Binned it almost immediately.
You also need to recharge them every week and replace them completely every few months. All well and good if you don't mind parting with your money in such a fashion and if you haven't any plants I guess.
Another point is that water changes aren't just about reducing nitrates - they about refreshing the minerals etc and removing other things like fish hormones (stress and others) and removing detritus (dead plant material, uneaten food and of course fish waste).

 

[DrRob]

Agree with mama 100%. Nitrates are a relatively good way to tell that things are building up, but they're, mainly, not what you're getting rid of in a water change. Think of them as an indicator of rising levels of general waste (in a non planted tank) rather than specifically the thing to remove.

 

[Dandyman3]

Is the quickest way to get rid of Nitrite through water changes? Or what are they alternatives for metweezer so he knows what he can look for in future. I would too be interested to see if there was any other advice to help reduce nitrite/nitrate levels which isn't just your regular water changes. 

 

[DrRob]

The quickest way is indeed a water change.
 
Alternatives include chemical systems, like the nitrazorb mentioned, although there are a few others.
 
The other options are nutrient export, done in the display in a planted tank and often done with macroalgae or algae scrubbers in marine systems or biological methods with nitrate reactors (essentially anaerobic systems that run the nitrate process backwards up to gaseous nitrogen, which then gasses off).